Luo Yu

How does it feel when you wake up and the ants are "marching" in the room in swarms? This is what happened to students at Jinjiang College at Sichuan University.

4月17日，一段四川大学锦江学院学生宿舍出现疑似白蚁聚集的视频引发关注。视频中，房间地面、墙面、墙角等多处地方疑似白蚁聚集，密密麻麻。

The video publisher told the Chuanguan News reporter that the dormitory where the ant infestation occurred was located on the first floor, and there were 2 dormitories in the same dormitory building where suspected termites had been found, all of which were first-year dormitories. "Most of the dormitories are made of iron." It is speculated that the suspected termites may have crawled out of the gap between the wall and the ground.

After the ant situation appeared, the school sanitized the gathering areas such as doors, windows, and walls, and no ant queen was found. "It's much better now." The person concerned said that a basin of water has been placed under the window of the dormitory, hoping to kill the remaining ants by flooding.

Whether the ants in the video are termites or not is still controversial. According to the staff of the Publicity Department of Jinjiang College of Sichuan University, yesterday (17th) also paid attention to the situation, and is conducting statistics on the dormitory situation through the logistics support office, and arranging for the sanitizing company to carry out a comprehensive cleaning. "At present, it can only be said that there are ants, and there are individual dormitories on the first floor that have this situation and are being dealt with." The staff member said that this is not a special situation, and the school has always attached great importance to sanitizing work.

Termites, commonly known as "white ants", are important insects to maintain the ecological balance of nature, but they can harm housing construction, landscaping, cultural relics, reservoirs and dams, etc., and are one of the "five major pests in the world". From 6 to 0 every year, it is the termite breeding season, also known as the "termite flying period". During this period, termite colonies produce large numbers of winged adults, which fly out in groups to breed in pairs when the climate conditions are suitable.

"Termites in Pengshan are found on walls, furniture and gardens. At the same time, since termites generally fly at an altitude of 11 meters, they appear more on the first floor and rarely on the second floor. The staff of the termite control office of the real estate service center in Pengshan District, Meishan City, said that termites like warmth and humidity, are photophobic, and do not belong to vector insects. Adult winged termites don't bite, aren't toxic, and don't spread disease, so there's no need to panic.

So what should we do if we encounter termite infestation?

The staff of the Termite Control Office suggested that if termites are found in the building, they can contact the local termite control agency, and after passing the audit, they will arrange for the implementation of household extermination as soon as possible. At the same time, the following emergency treatment can also be done first:

1. Manual hunting can be adopted. For example, slapping, beating, stepping and other methods can kill the flying termites in time, or sweep the flying termites together and kill them in a centralized manner by flooding. Due to the weak flight ability of termites, they usually fall vertically after takeoff, and a basin of water can also be placed under the flying hole, so that most of the winged adults fall into the water and drown.

2. If you find that there are termites flying outside or next door, you should close the doors and windows in time to avoid attracting termites to nest indoors.

In addition, the staff also reminded that in order to ensure the treatment effect of termite control drugs in the later stage, try not to spray household hygiene insecticides such as pesticide or pour boiling water on termite flying holes or hazard points. (Chuanguan News reporter Di Yile, Meishan Observation, Tan Xiaofei)